Royal Family

News about royal families, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 21, 2015

Publication of home movie footage from early 1930s, which shows England's Queen Elizabeth II at age 6 or 7 apparently giving Nazi salute, sparks debates in Britain over possible Nazi sympathies in royal family, limits of press freedom and extent of royal privacy; also prompts outpouring of support for queen on social media; newspaper The Sun, while defending decision to post video on its website, insists that image does not reflect badly on queen or her family. MORE

May. 14, 2015

Private letters from Prince Charles to British ministers, released after lengthy court battle initiated by The Guardian under a Freedom of Information request, reveal polite and knowledgeable communications on a range of national issues; letters, while not particularly forceful, evoke controversy given nation's sensitivity to any attempts by the monarchy to influence public policy. MORE

May. 5, 2015

Second child of Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, is named Charlotte Elizabeth Diana in honor of members of several generations of Royal Family. MORE

May. 3, 2015

Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, gives birth to baby girl, who will be fourth in line to British throne; news is cause of much rejoicing throughout Great Britain, especially among bookmakers who had placed bets on her having a daughter. MORE

Apr. 30, 2015

News Analysis; King Salman of Saudi Arabia rearranges order of royal succession, placing security and counterterrorism experts Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and Prince Mohammed bin Salman next in line; move, prompted by concerns over Iran's nuclear program and infirmity of original top princes, carries potential to reshape kingdom and its relations with United States; new leaders have shown little interest in democratic reforms. MORE

Jan. 17, 2015

Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, fifth in line for British throne, is in news again as allegations resurface that he had sex with a minor, claim denied by Buckingham Palace; incident highlights larger issue of how royal family members who have no real likelihood of gaining throne can make a life for themselves without any defined public role. MORE

Dec. 31, 2014

British Broadcasting Corporation, in controversial move, postpones scheduled broadcast of Reinventing the Royals, documentary about how royal family hired public-relations person to restore reputation of Prince Charles after 1997 death of Diana, Princess of Wales; film also details how consultant helped bring into household Camilla Parker Bowles, Charles' lover and future wife. MORE

Dec. 30, 2014

Britain's royal guards, who protect Queen's family and are a London tourist attraction, are becoming less conspicuous to crowds over growing fears of so-called lone wolf terror attacks against British targets; they are now standing guard in safer, less visible public places. MORE

Dec. 11, 2014

Cannons are fired in Monaco in celebration of twins born to Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene. MORE

Dec. 1, 2014

Relatives of Princess Srirasm, prominent member of Thai royal family, have been charged with corruption and stripped of their royally bestowed name; move is rare public display of palace intrigue. MORE

Sep. 9, 2014

Great Britain's Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, announce that they are expecting second child; speculation ensues as to whether it will influence secession vote in Scotland. MORE

Aug. 19, 2014

French authorities describe brazen robbery in Paris of unidentified Saudi royal and say they believe it was carried out by criminals who knew that the royal was carrying large amount of cash; prosecutors are investigating whether robbery was inside job. MORE

Aug. 12, 2014

Rome Journal; ranks of Honor Guard to the Royal Tombs of the Pantheon in Rome have grown thin, despite efforts to attract new members, and tombs are often unattended; guards attribute decline to waning commitment to Savoy kings who formerly ruled Italy, while others point to checkered history of former royal family and troubles of their current heirs. MORE

Jun. 4, 2014

Serge Schmemann Editorial Notebook contends that abdication of King Juan Carlos of Spain raises question of why so many monarchs still reign in Europe; maintains that European monarchs still serve as unifying symbols, and represent their nations' history and continuity. MORE

May. 15, 2014

Clive Goodman, former royalty editor of The News of the World, testifies at long-running phone-hacking trial that he had listened to voice mails of former Kate Middleton, Prince William and Prince Harry. MORE

Feb. 16, 2014

Op-Ed article by author Kenan Malik examines why the British public is so willing to subsidize its royalty, in light of the damning survey of the state of the royal finances released by the Public Accounts Committee. MORE

Jan. 23, 2014

Op-Ed article by journalist Miguel-Anxo Murado holds that Spain's monarchy has failed to keep pace with changing popular opinion in country crushed by economic hardship; notes series of royal blunders have been met with criticism by Spaniards angry at the establishment; says likelihood of returning to public's good graces is low while country continues to transition and royals remain same. MORE

Dec. 26, 2013

British tabloids are feverishly speculating about whether Prince Harry's girlfriend, Cressida Bonas, will spend the holidays with the royal family and whether he will propose to her during that time. MORE

Nov. 1, 2013

Britain's royal family uses its Twitter accounts to share brief, sanitized glimpses of their lives and activities with the public while preserving mystique of royalty. MORE

Oct. 24, 2013

Britons wait overnight for a view of Prince George, third in line to the throne, on his christening day. MORE

Sep. 9, 2013

British police accost Prince Andrew for wandering on Buckingham Palace grounds, apparently without identification; incident is doubly embarrassing for the police as days earlier an intruder scaled the walls of the palace and entered its public rooms. MORE

Aug. 12, 2013

Birth of Britain's Prince George results in record readership for struggling celebrity weeklies; upsurge comes after six months of flat circulation numbers in both print and online. MORE

Jul. 25, 2013

Advertising column; advertisers take to Twitter and Facebook to send congratulatory messages to the royal family on birth of Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge; messages show how brands are increasingly trying to become part of news-driven cultural moments. MORE

Jul. 24, 2013

Prince William of England and Duchess of Cambridge, Kate, make first public appearance with their infant son, to delight of screaming onlookers. MORE

Jul. 23, 2013

The announcement and introduction of the royal baby has been an artful display of salesmanship. MORE

Jul. 23, 2013

Kensington Palace announces that Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, has given birth to a boy, weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces; royal baby, who is now third in line to be king, gives Britain a chance to celebrate itself by connecting its past to its present. MORE

Jul. 23, 2013

Op-Ed article by author Lionel Shriver analyzes British obsession with birth of royal children, saying it allows them to symbolically perpetuate their national identity; suggests celebrations also offer welcome respite from economic and political gloom of recent years. MORE

Jul. 12, 2013

London Journal: no due date has ever been made public for the birth of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s first child, but that has not stopped crowds from forming outside St Mary’s hospital; baby, expected in July, will be known as the Prince (or Princess) of Cambridge and will be third in line to the throne. MORE

Apr. 29, 2013

Op-Ed article by author Arnon Grunberg questions value of Dutch monarchy, which seems to be nothing more than publicly subsidized performance art; questions why anyone would seriously oppose performance art and want to do away with today's monarchy, except for fact that future king and queen of Netherlands will be compensated in the millions. MORE

Apr. 16, 2013

Memo From Spain; King Juan Carlos and rest of Spain's royal family no longer command profound deference they had previously enjoyed; politicians and journalists have increasingly begun to investigate family's every move, publicizing their embarrassments and accusations, with some residents even calling for an elected head of state. MORE

Dec. 4, 2012

Britain's Royal Family announces pregnancy of Kate Middleton, now known as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge; news is hearty feast for British tabloid press. MORE

Sep. 15, 2012

British Royal family is suing French magazine Closer for invasion of privacy after publishing paparazzi photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge, the former Kate Middleton, sunbathing topless at a secluded villa in Provence. MORE

Aug. 25, 2012

Rupert Murdoch's tabloid The Sun defies warning from British officials and publishes images of Prince Harry cavorting naked during a game of strip billiards in his Las Vegas hotel suite. MORE

Aug. 23, 2012

Photographs of Prince Harry of Wales, naked and cavorting with at least one naked woman in a Las Vegas hotel room are published on the celebrity Web site TMZ. MORE

May. 29, 2012

Conference at Kensington Palace in London is to consider the survival of the British monarchy; more than 100 scholars will convene in three-day event to understand how the institution continues in a modern, democratic age. MORE

Dec. 25, 2011

Thai government is intensifying its crackdown on criticism of the country's monarchy during final days of reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, prosecuting a record number of people charged with insulting the royal family in situation that many fear could turn violent. MORE

Dec. 8, 2011

Thai court sentences American citizen Joe Gordon to two and a half years in prison for defaming the country's royal family; Gordon pleaded guilty to charges that he had translated excerpts of a banned biography of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and then posted them online. MORE

Nov. 24, 2011

Thai court sentences a retired truck driver to 20 years in prison for sending cellphone text messages that it deemed insulting to the country's monarchy; it is the latest in a growing number of cases under a law that imposes harsh penalties for making insults or threats directed at King Bhumibol Adulyadej and his family. MORE

Oct. 29, 2011

Women's rights receive a historic boost as the 16 countries that recognize the British monarch as head of state abolish male precedence in the order of succession; decision is accompanied by the scrapping of a prohibition on the monarch's marrying a Roman Catholic, but the rule that reserves the throne to Protestants will remain. MORE

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